It's Finished!

I officially completed my yoga certification on Friday. I am super excited! The training class was quite intense including three days of multiple hours of yoga, a lot of lectures, and limitless learning. I’m exhausted both physically and mentally.

Overall, my blood sugars behaved themselves during the week. I struggled with my insulin for a day or two since my activity level wasn’t what I expected at the start. For the first few days, we only listened to lectures and did maybe an hour or less of yoga. Because I’d reduced my Lantus thinking I’d be super active, I ran high mid-week.

After the highs, I raised the Lantus by another unit and ended up being low most of the day because of increased activity. Another decrease and I stabilized. It was frustrating given that my teacher didn’t seem to understand activity levels and how that affects diabetes. When I’d spoken to him weeks ago, I’d asked about the activity level but he didn’t give a clear response.

I reminded him and told the class that I was type 1, just in case anything urgent might happen. I wish he would have given a heads up on the change in activity levels but alas, nothing can be done. I hoped that the other trainees and I could talk about my diabetes but that didn’t happen either. I wanted them to understand that a diabetic emergency should be treated a certain way, just in case they have a diabetic in their class at some point.

My diabetes didn’t seem to faze anyone though. I did my injections at the lunch table and during classes, checked my blood sugar constantly in front of them, and checked the Dexcom every 5 seconds. Only one person mentioned anything and she only asked if I was okay at one point. Maybe people are actually getting used to diabetes. Or maybe they are disturbed to the point of silence.

Despite decent blood sugars, I am now fighting a sore throat and ear issues (that I was fighting the week before and thought I’d kicked). I didn’t get much sleep during the training as I had to wake up at 4:30am and didn’t make it to bed most days until 11pm since I had so much to do. I slept about 12 hours Saturday, but hope to sleep a whole lot more the next few days. I just want to kick this icky feeling once and for all. And I definitely don’t want it to get worse.

As far as yoga goes, I’m going to be teaching classes on Thursday nights for now. I’m also working on a few other angles to teach elsewhere. In the meantime, I’m focusing on building my plans to open a studio. I’ve even contacted several leasing agents to see about local spaces. There’s still a lot to do before I’ll be anywhere ready to open the doors, but I’m very excited about the potential it has.

Until then, I just need to gain more teaching experience and enjoy the freedom that I still have right now. I’ve been forewarned that opening a studio (or any business) is like having a newborn baby. So at least I have flexibility and fun for now.

Megan HolmesMegan was diagnosed in 2009 with Type I. As an RN, she was familiar with the medical side of her diagnosis; learning to be a good patient on the other hand, was and continues to be the challenge of her day to day life. (Read More)

Michelle KowalskiMichelle Kowalski, a writer, editor and photography hobbiest living in Phoenix, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in February 2005. In January 2008, as part of her quest to start on an insulin pump, Michelle learned that she actually has type 1 diabetes. (Read More)